A family with three young children arrived at the hotel for a business/leisure weekend. On the last night of their stay, they dined in the hotel's signature restaurant, The Vernona, which specializes in entirely organic cuisine.
Upon closing of the restaurant, the server attendant found a small stuffed animal tucked underneath a seat cushion. A server immediately recognized that the stuffed animal belonged to one of the young children who had dined at the restaurant earlier that evening. It was too late to return the stuffed animal then, so they planned a fun way to present the toy the next day. They grabbed the community camera behind the front desk and positioned the stuffed animal to look like it was dining in the restaurant, playing the piano and cooking in the kitchen. At each location, they captured the moment on camera, and then made a storyline to go with each photo. They then printed all the photos and created a book of "animal adventures" for the young guest.
The picture book and stuffed animal made its way to the guest's door at 9a.m. the next morning. The young boy was jumping out of his skin with excitement when he saw his lost companion, and his mother responded, "The Ritz-Carlton always goes that extra mile - this is why my family will only travel to your hotels."
We are pleased to share these true stories experienced by guest at various Ritz-Carlton properties. These stories are shared as examples of unique experiences. Each guest experience varies by circumstances, location and hotel. Certain experiences may not be available or charges may apply.
My wife and I took our four sons to New York to attend the NFL draft. After checking in at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park, we immediately headed out to the convention center. The doors opened at 6 a.m., and it was a first-come/first-seated policy. Our sons talked us into staying in line on the sidewalk overnight. At about 1 a.m., I called the hotel, and asked Chris, the Night Manager, if they could possibly bring us five blankets, knowing it was a long shot. But not more than an hour later, the hotel doorman, Ronnie, emerged from a taxi armed with blankets and five cups of hot chocolate to keep us warm. Turns out that the best night I ever had at The Ritz-Carlton was spent on the sidewalk.
The Activities Coordinator at Abama Golf & Spa Resort was teaching a class for children and noticed that one of them had a real passion for ballet. Over the week, the two developed a friendship and the Activity Coordinator even came in before her shift every day to give the girl a private ballet class. She wanted to do something special for the young guest, and decided to teach her a special dance to perform for her parents. She arranged for the hotel’s Morocco Jazz Club to have special music and lighting for the performance.
On their last day, the little girl’s parents picked her up in the Jazz Club and – to their surprise – found their daughter all dressed up and ready to perform. The couple was very grateful and could not believe how much love and passion the Activity Coordinator had put into making their daughter’s stay so memorable. To complete the experience, the Activity Coordinator gave the guests a CD with pictures and videos of their daughter’s performance so they could share it with family and friends on their return home.
A guest mentioned to the Doorman that he had been out fishing that day, and caught a 200-pound yellow fin tuna. The guest said that the fish was in his cooler in the car and asked the doorman if it would be possible to receive extra ice.
The doorman quickly offered to do much more than that. With permission from the guest, he enlisted the assistance of the assistant Front Desk Manager who took the cooler to the kitchen where the Cook Supervisor cleaned the fish for the guest. After much work, he cut the meat, and broke it down into smaller pieces. Given the size of the fish, this was not easy.
The Cook Supervisor went a step further by cleaning the guest’s cooler and organizing the small pieces of fish in ice for him to take home. The beautiful piece of tuna was now ready to cook once the guest arrived home. The guest was “wowed” by the entire experience. The hotel took his simple request – delivering more ice – and managed to anticipate his needs and exceed his expectations.
A guest wished to express his gratitude for a great experience during a recent stay at the hotel. The guest explained that he had told the assistant manager on the Club Level that his wife loved the Spaghetti Bolognese served at a hotel in Paris. The guest said that it would be wonderful if hotel could replicate that experience in San Francisco. In an effort to provide an exceptional experience, the assistant manager provided the chefs in the Terrace Restaurant and in-room dining kitchen with the number for the hotel in Paris.
The chefs were able to obtain the recipe and recreate the special dish for the guest and his wife. Room service delivered the perfectly prepared meal to the delight of the guest's wife.